Horns and a Halo
by xeoa
Summary: Alex Gaskarth is the bad boy at school. Leigh is the good Christian girl. When they meet, Alex vows to make her his. Will Leigh be able to change him? And what will she learn from her dance with the devil? M for language, adult themes, and lemon zest.
1. Not So New Beginning

**_Hey guys..._**

**_I don't usually write fanfictions. But one of my BFFs (aka Leigh) asked me to write a story about her and her "future husband", Alex Gaskarth. It took me a while to come up with a good idea. I finally settled on totally taking Alex out of his realm of ATL and placing him in high school. Please don't think I see him just like the character in this story; I really hope my BFF's future man isn't that horrible. Also, don't think Leigh is such an innocent-church-girl in real life. She is far from it. But I thought it would make a better story if the main characters were on opposite ends of the spectrum. So, with that, enjoy!_**

* * *

**Leigh's POV**

I fell to the floor panting and smiling widely. I'd been smiling a lot tonight. Of course, who wouldn't be smiling when you were having a sleepover with your best friend?

Rachel stumbled across the room, dizzy from the quadruple pirouette she had just attempted. She plopped down next to me with an "oof." I laughed at her grunt, and she laughed right along with me. It was two in the morning, but we were still going strong. It might've had something to do with that 12-pack of Cherry Coke Zero we guzzled earlier….

"Good rehearsal," Rachel said in between huffs. She held up her hand for a high-five.

I completed the gesture. "Yup," I breathed.

"Again? We need to get this dance down pat before try-outs."

"Sure." I nodded.

Although Rachel wasn't trying out for cheerleading, she was generously helping me prepare to do so. We had been doing dance routines every Friday night for the past two months so I would be ready. Gosh, she was a good friend.

"Cool," Rachel agreed. She was about to hop up, but I grabbed her wrist.

"Wait."

There was something I'd been meaning to tell her. I was running out of time, and I needed to warn my best friend. The only thing I was anxious about was her reaction. Would she totally hate me for this? Rachel was known to hold ridiculously long grudges….

"What's wrong? Is everything okay?" Rachel's eyes widened and her voice held worry.

I chuckled inwardly. She always assumed the worst. But then again, she always knew how to handle things when they _did_ turn out to be the worst possible. She would be a great mom one day.

"No, no, nothing's wrong. I just need to tell you something."

Rachel pulled her hand out of my grasp and turned her entire body towards me. She folded her legs criss-cross style and looked at me with expectant eyes.

I took a deep breath. _Rachel won't kill me. She's my best friend. This is nothing. She won't kill me._

"I won't be in German class on Monday," I blurted.

"Okay…" Rachel said after a long pause. "So?"

"I mean I won't be in German class again. Ever."

She looked confused. "Why?"

"Frau Aden wants me to move up to German III. She's been tutoring me in the things I'll miss with the whole skipping the end of this year and most of next year thing," I explained.

It took a second for Rachel to process the news. I waited apprehensively. Finally, her face lit up with a huge grin and sparkling eyes.

"Oh my God!" she squealed, throwing her arms around my neck. "This is great! I'm so happy for you!"

"Really?" I asked. This was a _way_ different reaction than what I'd been expecting.

"Of course!" she exclaimed. She pulled out of the hug so she could look at me. "I mean, I'll miss you in class. How am I gonna deal with all those stupid boys? But Leigh! You're gonna be, like, a Junior!"

"Only for one period," I amended.

"But still." She popped up off the floor. "So, are we gonna run the routine again, or are we gonna call it a night?"

I smiled. How did I ever think Rachel would be mad at me? She really was the best friend a girl could ask for.

"Let's keep going. I really need to get that pike-turn-wolf jump combo. But first, will you pray with me?" I asked.

Rachel's faced scrunched up. An exasperated groan escaped her throat.

"Come on," she pleaded. "Don't go all Jesus-freak on me! You know how I don't like that kind of stuff."

Indeed I did. While I was very devoted to God, Rachel was not. She was more of the bedside-Baptist type. You know, where she only really turns to God when there's no other option. I had tried to convert her many times, but she wouldn't go for it. Whenever I let my "Jesus-freak" side show, Rachel became pretty uncomfortable. At least she would tolerate my religiousness on occasion.

"Please?" I whined. "I just wanted to ask God for a good first day in my new German class."

"Fine," Rachel sighed, rolling her eyes. She dropped back to the ground, folded her hands, and bowed her head. "Okay, let's do this."

I giggled at my friend's reluctance. She was so funny sometimes. I closed my eyes and clasped my hands together.

"Dear God," I said. "Please look out for me on Monday when I go to my new German class. I've worked so hard to move up a class, so please protect me. Help me to study hard and stay focused. Help me to get good grades so all my dream colleges will accept me. And most of all, God, please look out for Rachel." I heard her chuckle. "She'll be stuck with all those idiotic people back in German II. Thank you and amen."

I opened my eyes to see an amused Rachel. She cocked her head, staring at me for a second, then bounced back onto her feet. I followed suit.

"So, you need help on that pike-turn-wolf jump combo?" she asked.

I nodded. We then proceeded to dance until the sun peeked over the horizon.

--

_You can do this, Leigh. You can do this._

I shifted my binders and new German textbook to my left arm so I could have a free hand to fuss with my skirt. I stood just a few feet outside my new German classroom. Frau Aden only taught the freshman and sophomore classes, so I had a whole new group of students complete with a brand new teacher. His name was Herr Schmidt, and he was a pretty gnarly guy from what I'd heard. I took two deep breaths to steady myself.

_You can do this. You can do this._

I clutched my books in front of my chest. The door to room 211 was open, and a few desks were visible from my view point. I saw one girl that used to tutor me in English, and that settled my nerves a little bit. At least I would know somebody. At a huge school like mine, it was quite possible to not even know all the people in your grade. I scanned the other desks I could see, trying to find someone else I recognized.

I stopped breathing.

_**There's**__ someone I recognize._

It was Alex Gaskarth – _the_ Alex Gaskarth – in all of his bad-boy glory. He sat next to his best friend Jack Barakat. I definitely knew who they were. According to Lowry, the President of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Alex and his friends were walking hotbeds of sin. Still, I couldn't help but ogle Alex. I mean, he was _Alex Gaskarth_. What girl wouldn't melt at his perfect, dark brown hair and suggestive smile? I just disregarded his – ahem – whorishness when I admired his looks. Jeez, he was gorgeous.

A tall, muscled guy pushed past me and into the classroom, sending me flying several feet to the side. That brought me back to the present. I glanced up at the clock mounted in the hallway. It was less than five minutes until school started. I had to get into that room sooner or later. I repeated my newfound mantra in my head.

_You can do this. You can do this._

I lifted my foot to take a step, but I froze in mid-air. I just couldn't make myself put my foot down. I wanted to. I really did. But something was preventing me from doing so. I cringed as I realized what it was. I was nervous. Because of Alex Gaskarth. I didn't want to look like a dork in front of him.

_Come on, Leigh. You can do this._

I moved my books to one arm and pushed my knee down with my free hand.

_There. I took one step. Hooray_, I thought dryly.

I stood there just staring at the door, dumbfounded. Why was this so hard? All I had to do was walk a few feet and sit down. I could definitely do that. So why was it that I was still standing just beyond the threshold of room 211?

_Because of Alex Gaskarth_, I answered my own question.

I didn't even know why he was getting me so flustered. Why should I care what he thinks? He drank, he did drugs, and he slept with every girl he laid eyes on. He was not the kind of boy I should be getting nervous over. So why was I getting nervous?

_God, please just get me through this door. Just get me inside this dang classroom. Amen._

And, with the power of God, I strode through the door.

**Alex's POV**

"Dude, tell me it isn't true," Jack said as I sat down in the desk next to him. He was trying hard not to laugh, but he wasn't exactly what I'd call successful.

It was Monday morning, German class was first, and what Jack was asking about was indeed true. Shit, I wasn't in the mood for any of this.

I just shot a death glare in my friend's direction and went back to furiously picking at my fingernails. _Damn this nervous habit,_ I thought. I wouldn't have any nail left if I kept at this pace. With some effort I put my hands flat on my desk. _There. At least your fingers won't bleed today._

"Shit, you are such a girl," Jack told me.

I turned to him and frowned.

"What? You are." He pointed to my hands. "Seriously, man? Picking your nails?"

Rolling my eyes, I brought my attention back to resisting the urge to ruin my fingers.

"Your guitar playing will get shit-faced if you keep doing that, you know," Jack continued. "You need to take care of your hands. I mean, if you still care about the band and all."

I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Okay, okay, I'm not one to talk. Trying out that homemade flame-thrower wasn't the smartest idea." He stroked the scar on his left index finger absentmindedly. "But seriously, dude. Tell me. Did it really happen? 'Cause you know I can't trust Phoebe to tell the truth."

I smirked a little bit at that. Jack's girlfriend did have a knack for exaggerating the truth…and then totally mutilating it.

"Please?" he whined.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I lied, grumbling.

"Finally, a response!" Jack cried and looked up to the heavens. He then shifted his gaze back to me. "So did you do it? Did you fuck her?"

At that moment, my resolve crumbled. I had planned to lie my way through this (something I'd practiced a lot and become quite good at, if I do say so myself), but my scheme fell to pieces in an instant. Even with all the fucking practice in the world, I could never lie to Jack. He was my best friend, and I couldn't live with myself if I told him a fib. God, I _was_ such a girl.

"Yes," I groaned, sliding down in my seat. I let my eyes close in shame and defeat.

"Holy shit! I can't believe you! I thought you had higher standards."

"What can I say?" I snapped back. "I was drunk and horny. She was female and available. Very available."

"I'll say," he chuckled.

I hit him in the shoulder.

"Ow!"

"Don't be such a pussy," I growled. "Anyway, she was drunk too, so I doubt she even fucking remembers it."

"Fuck yeah, she does," Jack informed me. "She was in the hallway telling everything with a heartbeat about her night with _**the**__ Alex Gaskarth_." His pitch went up two octaves in a poor imitation of a girl's voice.

"Seriously? Fuck my life." I pounded my head with my fists.

"All I know is that you must have been pretty drunk to even consider getting in bed with her. What all did you have, anyway?"

I massaged my temples. "Jose Cuervo. A shitload of Jose Cuervo."

"Ah," Jack muttered. "That explains a lot."

"Yeah," I agreed. Tequila could really make your clothes fall off.

"Remind me to stay away from the Cuervo in the future," Jack laughed.

"Likewise."

"So tell me what happened!" he urged.

"What are you, a fucking eighth grade girl?" I wondered.

"So what if I am? Now tell me."

I sighed. "It was a party. I was drunk. You've had enough party hook-ups to know what happened."

"So you ran like hell as soon as she fell asleep?" Jack asked.

I nodded.

"Good job, my brotha!" he approved as he gave me a fist pound.

"Yeah, whatever," I mumbled.

Jack then left me to my own devices as he hurried to finish homework he never did. I chuckled silently. Jack was the goody-two-shoes of our group; no one else even attempted homework. Granted, he wasn't much of a goody-two-shoes, but that just gives good perspective on the rest of our clique.

I guess you could've called us the bad-asses of the school. Of course, we weren't really that bad-ass considering we were just teenagers in eleventh grade. But our favorite pastimes included sex, getting high, getting drunk, cursing, and the ever-popular committing vandalism. The guys made up the band in which I acted as the lead singer and guitarist. We all had those swoopy, musician hairstyles that most of the girls at school drooled over. Jack said they made us look like fags. Hey, whatever gets us more gigs, right?

All of us, including the girls, had at least one tattoo. It was the ultimate way to rebel against authority and feel totally in control. We all craved that. Plus, that just heightened our level of fucking bad-assness. The other kids quivered when they caught a glimpse of the gothic angel wings on the inside of my wrist. If only they could see the rest of my art, then they would _really_ quiver.

A part of me didn't enjoy the life I was leading. I was always feared, always talked about. And everything was no-strings-attached – there was nothing in my whole life that was concrete. Of course, this part of me was beyond microscopic and never given the chance to speak. When this part made itself known on rare occasions, my fucking bad-ass side took it out back and gave it a beating, Brooklyn style.

So my life never really took on a solid pattern. Sure, I might be doing the same things every day, but always in a different way. We'd never play the same songs at band practice (one of the reasons we couldn't get a fucking record deal already. We were too "inconsistent." Psh.), or eat at the same restaurant, or even talk to the same people. I sure as hell didn't fuck the same girls every day. Some days I'd listen to my parents, others I would totally blow them off. The latter was more common. But the problem was – doing new things each day – I was running out of things to do. There was only so much I could entertain myself with in such a suburban town.

And that's when she walked in.

She glided through the classroom door. No one really took any notice of her, as the bell hadn't rung yet. She could've just been wanting to talk to the teacher or something. But I watched as her eyes swept the room, quickly studying each person. Her eyes landed on an empty desk. She paused, flipped her brown hair over her shoulder, and quietly took the seat in the front of the room.

_**There's **__something I haven't done._

I had never seen her before. That didn't say much, judging by the gargantuan size of the school and my obliviousness to everything except the band. But I suddenly had the urge to want to…_know_ her. Like it was bothering me that I had no idea who she was. What was her name? Why was she coming into my German class halfway through the third quarter? Why wasn't she wearing a jacket when it was so fucking cold outside?

I leaned over and tapped Jack on the elbow. He looked up from his unfinished assignment, a little irritated.

"What?" he hissed.

"That." I pointed to the girl who had just walked in.

Jack looked towards where I was pointing and stiffened up when he laid eyes on her. He set down his pencil and looked at me. He seemed indifferent.

"I think that 'that' is a 'she,'" he said. "And I told you not to point out girls to me. I'm dating Phoebe now, man! She'll punch me in the balls if she sees me even looking at another girl."

"You're fucking whipped, man," I chuckled before becoming serious. "But honestly, what do you think?"

Jack studied her for a few seconds. He cocked his eyebrow and then turned back to me.

"Not worth your time."

_What?_

"Why not?" I asked.

"Look at what she's wearing." Jack gestured toward her vaguely. "Crew-neck sweater. Floral skirt."

"Did you just say _floral_?" I snickered, interrupting him.

"What's wrong with saying floral? Anyway, she's definitely innocent and against exposure. And way inexperienced."

I rubbed my hands together. "I have no problem with _that_."

"Fuck, man, you just don't get it, do you?" he wondered. "She's not the type you go after. You like the booty shorts and fishnets, remember?"

"No, that's what _you_ like. I just went along for the ride."

"Tell me booty shorts and fishnets don't turn you on," Jack said indignantly.

I hesitated. "Okay, fine, I like girls like that. But maybe I could like the innocent girls, too?"

He shook his head and let out and exasperated breath. I was becoming annoyed. Who was he to say that I couldn't try to get her? That just encouraged me more.

"Let it go, dude." He turned back to his work.

I turned back to _her_.

Her skin wasn't dark, but it wasn't pale either. I couldn't quite describe the color. Her light brown hair hung down her back in thick layers, and side-swept bangs rested on her forehead. From where I was sitting, that was all I could tell about her, besides her profile. She didn't have a Roman nose, at least. I silently cursed my seating choice.

_Why do I always have to sit in the very fucking back of the room?_

She pushed the curtain of her hair behind her shoulder, revealing her ear and neck to me. I noticed that whatever earrings she was wearing were diamonds or something like that – the light caught on the stone and made her earlobe sparkle. Her neck was bare of any jewelry, but there was an inviting freckle placed halfway between her jaw and her shoulder. Oh, fuck, I wanted to touch that freckle.

_Shit, I __**really**__ need to_ _get her now._

She ran her hand through her hair then, effectively hiding that damn sexy freckle from me. Restlessly, she fingered the tips of the brown strands. Her eyes darted to the door and back several times.

_She's nervous._

I felt somebody whack my arm. It stung a little, but I didn't want to give whoever it was the satisfaction. I turned to see Jack looking at me with a fucking smirk on his face. What the hell?

"What?" I snapped.

"Let it go, man," he _tsk_ed and shook his head.

"I like a challenge." I put my focus back on the mystery that sat in the front row.

Jack sighed, most likely at my senseless captivation with the girl, but I didn't care. He had no fucking idea what he was talking about. I could totally make her mine. I was fucking _Alex Gaskarth_ for God's sake! No girl refused me. I was the one who did all the refusing. Jack was wrong. Completely wrong. And I was going to prove it.

Just then, Herr Schmidt clomped into the classroom. He brought with him the scent of bad coffee and cigarette smoke. I covered my nose knowingly; smoking was the one bad habit that I couldn't stand. It was disgusting. As Herr Schmidt (or Raymond, as I liked to refer to him as) passed the girl, she shrunk back from the smell. I smiled.

_Hey, we have something in common._

Raymond dropped his crap on his rickety desk and then stood in front of the classroom. He cleared his throat to get the attention of the class. It didn't work, as always. He cleared his throat again. I thought about that quote about how stupidity is doing the same things but expecting different results. I laughed out loud. That quote was totally right. Raymond was the poster child for stupidity.

"Would you like to share with the class what's so funny, Mr. Gaskarth?" Raymond croaked. His smoker's voice made him hard to understand sometimes.

The room had fallen silent. I glanced at the girl before I answered him. She was completely turned around in her chair, watching and waiting for my reply. I decided not to be an all-out douche right now; I still needed to get her to like me.

"Nah, Raymond, I think I'll pass on this one."

Raymond's mouth turned into a thin line. His eyes bulged out of his head as red crept up his neck and onto his face.

"I…am…your…teacher. You…will…call…me…Herr…Schmidt," he stammered angrily.

Jack and I disguised our laughter as coughing. Raymond's little rants were so fucking hilarious!

Raymond took deep breaths until the red disappeared from his features. Effectively calmed down now, he moved on to other business.

"Maybe all of you have noticed, but I'll announce it anyway. We have a new student in our class." He gestured to the girl. "Please stand up and give us your name."

She looked absolutely mortified. Her eyes bugged out in surprise for the slightest instant, then returned to normal. She reluctantly stood up.

"Uh, I'm Leigh."

"And why are you joining our class so late in the year, Leigh?"

"I – uh, Frau Aden said that I was too advanced for the sophomore class."

Oh, so she was a year younger than me. And apparently smart, at least in German. Very interesting.

"Well, I'm glad that you have decided to join us," Raymond said. He turned to the rest of the class. "And I'm sure all of you will make Leigh feel at home."

_Yes. She'll feel __**right**__ at home._

With that, Leigh sat back down and Raymond began his lecture. I tuned out the bastard because I never listened anyway. And why would I ever need to know how to talk about fucking pieces of furniture in German? It wasn't like I was about to go shopping at IKEA of Berlin or something. I watched as Leigh pulled a pad of paper from her bag and started taking notes. I smiled at that.

_You won't be taking notes when I'm done with you._

"Dude! Are you seriously _smiling_ at her?" Jack whispered, whacking me again. All this whacking was seriously getting old.

"None of your business, you son of a bitch," I mumbled back.

Yet again, he whacked me. "I'm telling you man, don't try it. You'll just get in a bad place."

"Thanks for the advice, Mom. You should probably go check on those cookies. I think I smell them burning."

Jack rolled his eyes and went back to doodling in his notebook.

I kept watching Leigh. _Leigh._ What an uncommon name. At least, I had never met a girl named that. She seemed different than the girls I usually went for.

_Duh, asshole! She's smart and not outwardly begging for a good fuck._

But I still wanted to go after her. It'd be fun to participate in the chase. I'd never really had to _chase_ a girl. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Plus, I wanted to prove my fucking bastard of a best friend wrong. I _was_ going to try it. And I _was_ going to do it.

_Leigh, look out. I'm coming for you._

* * *

**_What did y'all think??_**

**_I don't know how many people read fanfics about ATL and Alex Gaskarth, but I'd really appreciate some reviews. So please, please, please review!!! I'd be much obliged. And it would encourage me to get updates out faster! *wink wink*_**

**_This chapter is over 4,000 words long. I'm hoping that all chapters will be at least this long, and maybe even longer. Give me your thoughts. Thank you thank you thank you!!!_**

**_Much Love, xeoa_**


	2. Conclusions

**_Chapter 2!! I hope you like it. I had a lot of fun writing this one._**

**_So my friend (the one who inspired the character of Leigh) went to the ATL concert that was in my town last week. She was in the mosh pit and had a great time. But there was this blue-haired bitch that was standing in front of her. That girl actually bit my friend when she tried to get a better look at her husband! Bitch. So I had to include a blue-haired bitch in this story, and that blue-haired bitch is Mel. She may seem nice now, but just you wait. Enjoy!_**

**Leigh's POV**

_Oh. My. Gosh._

I sat in the cafeteria, only picking at my salad so Rachel wouldn't get worried that I had an eating disorder or something. I was too confused/surprised/euphoric to have an appetite. I had spent a whole hour of my normally uneventful life sitting in the same classroom as Alex Gaskarth. Alex _Gaskarth_! And he noticed me. He actually noticed me! I could feel his eyes boring into the back of my head for the entire period. I had almost instantly regretted my choice of desk. I was sitting in the front row, right in front of Herr Schmidt (who smelled like the disgusting combination of rank cigarettes and cheap coffee). There was no chance that I could sneak a look at that bad-boy in the back row. Besides, maybe it was for the best. I bet Alex would've laughed in my face if he caught me looking.

"Hello! Earth to Leigh!" Rachel laughed, waving her hand in front of my face.

I shook my head a few times to clear it.

_Now is lunch. Not German. No Alex Gaskarth here. Focus._

"Yeah. Sorry."

"So…" she began.

I raised my eyebrows at my friend, anticipating her question. We had had science class together after my adventures in German III. As always, we passed notes. Science was the one class that I goofed off in. I worked so hard in all my other classes, and I deserved a break, right? I still got a 95% end grade, so my note passing didn't really matter anyway.

So, in short, Rachel knew about my not-quite-encounter with Alex. I didn't give many details because I was still figuring everything out myself. I knew she couldn't smother her curiosity any longer. Rachel was so impatient.

"So…?" I replied.

Rachel hesitated for a second, and then spoke.

"Tell me more about Alex Gaskarth!" she blurted.

The whole table went silent. Even Maria, the most oblivious of all the people at the table, stopped mid-laugh. All eyes were set on me. I glanced around at the stunned faces of my friends. Nobody blinked, breathed, or even moved.

"Um…well…I didn't even really _talk_ to him…" I explained.

"Oh my fucking God!" one of my friends, Eve, cried. Her dark hair flopped in front of her glasses as she leaned forward.

I winced at the swear word. Why did everybody have to curse all the time?

"Alex _Gaskarth_? You are not talking about _Alex Gaskarth_, right?" another friend, Gwen, asked in a low voice. Her hazel eyes were skeptical.

"Yes! Alex Gaskarth! He's in Leigh's new German class!" Rachel squealed. She tied her dirty-blonde hair into a ponytail and then looked me in the eyes. "Now let's get down to business. Tell us _all _about it. Every last detail."

I sighed. Rachel was really making a mountain out of a molehill. I hadn't even talked to him, for goodness' sake! But here was Rachel, trying to turn everything into something it wasn't. Everyone was staring at me expectantly.

"Guys, calm down. He didn't even say 'hi' or anything." Eve's face fell ever so slightly, but everybody else kept their expressions intact. "But I could feel him looking at me. I was in the front row, and he was in the back, so I couldn't really sneak a peek at him or anything. But I could feel it, you know?"

Everyone but Gwen nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh my God! Leigh!" Rachel exclaimed. "He loves you! He totally loves you!"

"Rachel. Seriously? He _loves_ her?" Gwen wondered. "You're getting ahead of yourself."

I shot Gwen a look and mouthed a silent 'thank you'. She nodded and smiled.

Rachel let out an exasperated sigh. "Okay, maybe he doesn't love her. Yet. But he definitely thinks she's pretty. Why would he stare at her all class if he didn't?"

"Yeah, it makes sense. Think about it," Eve said. "Leigh, he likes you!"

"Wait, what's happening?" asked a bewildered Maria.

The whole table erupted into laughter. Oh, good old Maria. She was always so clueless.

Maria's brown eyes glared at every person at the table before she spoke again. Rachel continued to snicker beside me, though.

"So let me get this straight…your new German class is the same as Alex Gaskarth's German class," she said.

"Yes," I replied.

"You two didn't talk, but he stared at you for the whole hour-long period," she continued.

"Yes."

"And now he's in love with you?"

"No!"

"Yes!" Rachel yelled over my denial.

Maria looked back and forth between me and Rachel, a confused expression on her face. That didn't really mean anything, though. She was always confused. But I was confused too, so Maria must have been ultra confused. All thanks to Rachel.

"No, he doesn't love her," Gwen clarified, leaning over to un-confuse Maria.

"Yet," Eve amended.

"No, guys!" I practically screamed. The table silenced immediately. "Alex Gaskarth does not love me, does not like me, or anything of the sort. So please get it out of your heads."

Maria, Gwen, and Rachel each gave me a sympathetic look. They didn't like it when I said things like that. They thought I was too hard on myself. Eve was unfazed, however.

"Why wouldn't he?" Eve asked. "Look at yourself, Leigh! You have great hair –"

I opened my mouth to protest, but Rachel elbowed me.

"– and don't bother saying that you don't, 'cause you do. You have a smokin' hot body if I do say so myself, and your sense of fashion is unparalleled. You're pretty enough to be a supermodel and you have the coolest eye color I've ever seen. And that's just from the physical standpoint. If you go on to your personality, you're the funniest person I've ever met. Plus, you're so ni –"

"Okay, Eve, stop," I begged.

She shut her mouth and averted her eyes. I suddenly felt bad for saying that. Did I hurt her feelings? Gosh, and she was about to say how nice I was….

"Leigh, Alex Gaskarth has plenty of reasons to like you," Rachel murmured.

"He might, but I don't want him to like me," I declared. New convictions were forming in my head.

Everyone fell silent and stared at me with shocked expressions. Eve's eyes were bugging out of her head, and Maria's jaw went slack. Even Gwen looked surprised. Rachel just looked suspicious. As if I would be lying!

"Why not?" asked Maria.

"Girls, the whole reason why we all know him is because he's the hugest bad-boy in this school," I explained. "Do you all not know who I am? I go to church every Sunday and bible study three times a week. I'm a member of FCA. I'm practically the only one who signed the abstinence pledge when that lady came to school trying to convince us to be pure until marriage. I'm your class-A good-girl."

"I'm sure you could be bad if you wanted to," Gwen offered.

"But I don't," I assured her. "I like being innocent. I like being focused on school. That way I'll get into a good college."

"How can you _not_ want Alex Gaskarth to like you?" Rachel asked, dumbfounded.

"Sure, he's attractive," I said, "but just step back and look at the evidence. Every girl he's ever liked, he treated like trash. In fact, I don't think he's even capable of _liking_ someone. He just finds slutty looking girls and uses them for sex. It's not right. He plays games; he tries to convince those girls that he loves them. But he doesn't! Don't you see? I don't want to fall for his games. So I guess the best way to do that is to steer clear of him all together."

"But he's so _hot_!" Rachel groaned.

I rolled my eyes. "Is that all you ever think about? His values don't match up with mine. Plus, I want a guy who loves me for me, not for my simply being female. And I'm not a one-use kind of girl."

"Oh, so if he slept with you more than once, you'd go with him?" Eve chided.

"No!" I exclaimed. "You're missing the point. He's not the type of guy I should like."

"You shouldn't like him," Eve pressed, "but I can tell that you do."

"_I do not like Alex Gaskarth!"_ I screamed. Luckily, the cafeteria was a noisy place, so no one other than my friends heard my outburst.

"God, okay," Eve gave in. "You don't need to get so God damn defensive."

"Thank you," I replied curtly. "And don't use the Lord's name in vain."

**Alex's POV**

I had been thinking about Leigh all day. Sure, she was good-looking and all, but I wasn't like one of those fucking pansies that pined after a girl like his life depended on it. There was no pining here. I was simply challenged, and being the competitive person I am, I wanted to win. I was going to prove Jack wrong. I would coax Leigh into bed with me. In fact, by that time she'd be _begging_ me to fuck her. No way was I backing down from this.

The scheming thoughts that had consumed me all day dissipated as I walked into Jack's garage. We had band practice today, and Jack's garage was the only place with enough outlets to plug in all of our equipment. Rian was already beating a steady rhythm on his drum set, and Zack was tuning his bass. Just like always, the girls were lounging on the dirty old futon that was set up in the corner. Jack had one foot propped up on the piece of furniture and was chatting animatedly with them. His guitar sat lonely and forgotten in its stand on the other side of the room. No wonder we couldn't get a fucking contract. Jack was too busy chatting up anything with two fucking X chromosomes to focus on the record deal. And he dared to accuse me of not caring about the band! That fucktard.

"Hola amigos! Como estas?" I greeted my friends.

Was it sad that I knew more Spanish than German when I wasn't even studying the fucking language? Yes, very sad. For who, I'm not sure though. Probably Raymond. Yeah, let's blame it on Raymond.

"Ooh, Spanish skills!" teased Phoebe as she got up and gave me a hug.

Phoebe was pretty short and had brown wavy hair. I never thought of her as more than a friend, but she was a cool person. I think the reason why Jack liked her so much was her glasses. Apparently she gave off the sexy librarian vibe or something. I didn't see it, but Jack did, so whatever. If I had the chance to fuck a sexy librarian, I'd do it. So I can't really hate on Jack for liking Phoebe.

The other half of the female portion of our group gave me a hug next. Her name was Mel, and she was the weirdest fucking chick I've ever met. She was only a few inches shorter than me, and her eyes were a really bright shade of green. Here comes the weird part: she had blue hair. I'm not talking about a subtle undertone of blue or something; she had _blue hair_. Every single strand of hair on that weird head was blue. And not navy blue, either. _Electric_ fucking blue. Mel also made her own clothes out of scraps that she found in dumpsters. Like I said, weird chick. And here's the kicker: she was absolutely head over heels in love with me.

I don't remember exactly when it happened. All I know is that she suddenly liked to stand really close to me all the time, stare at my lips, and laugh at all my jokes. Even the lame-ass ones. That's when I figured it out. I used her badly-placed adoration to my advantage, though. If I needed sex, she was there and willing. I only had to drop a miniscule hint and she would practically rip her shirt and bra off on the spot. She's picked up a few counts of indecent exposure that way.

Mel held in me a hug for way longer than was necessary. I cleared my throat, and with that she reluctantly backed off. Rolling my eyes, I pulled my guitar out of its case and began to set everything up. Rian was ready and waiting for practice to start, and Zack couldn't really care less. I quickly tuned my Fender. With that, I was prepared to begin rehearsing.

"Okay, guys, let's start," I proposed, glancing up at Zack and Rian.

"Uh, I don't think we can," Rian said.

"Why the fuck not?" I just wanted to get this fucking over with so I could get back to thinking up my plan for Operation: Turning Good Girl Bad.

Rian pointed behind me. Zack looked at what Rian was pointing at, and he smothered a laugh with his hand. Rian just looked thoroughly disgusted.

I whirled around to see Jack and Phoebe making out. It was pretty intense. Phoebe lay sprawled out on the futon while Jack straddled her, both gripping each other's hair. Their moans were so loud that I couldn't believe I didn't hear them before. I covered my eyes with my hand. I'm all for my best friend going at it with his girlfriend and everything, just not in front of me. Too much information.

"Du-ude," I complained.

Jack started chuckling against Phoebe's mouth. Phoebe started chuckling too and pushed him off of her. She sat up and smoothed her hair.

"Looks like I'm keeping you from practicing," she told Jack.

"Oh, I don't mind," he growled, nibbling her ear.

She shoved him away. "But Alex does." She looked at me. "Sorry, A.G.."

"No problem, Phoebe," I assured her.

"Fuck Alex!" Jack roared. He took Phoebe by the waist and threw her back down on the futon. She erupted into a fit of giggles.

"I tried, Alex. I'm sor – oh, oh!" Her apology broke off into a chain of gasps as Jack ran his hands up and down her body.

I turned away. The only thing worse than watching two of your best friends make out? Listening to their orgasmic groans while they were making out. It was fucking disgusting. At least I had the decency to be indecent behind closed doors.

"Pizza?" I suggested to my friends.

Both Zack and Rian nodded their heads feverishly. Mel came up behind me and whispered a "thank you" in my ear. I knew it was supposed to be flirtatious, but it wasn't even fucking close. God, that girl was a train wreck.

The four of us quickly escaped the garage, leaving Jack and Phoebe to…whatever those two do when they're alone.

--

"Okay guys, tell me what you think," I said when the waiter left to place our drink orders.

We were sitting in a booth at the Pizza Hut in town. It had been forever since I actually sat down and ate pizza at a restaurant. But hey, I'll take anything that gets me away from the happy, horny couple. I was sitting next to Zack, leaving Mel sandwiched between Rian and the wall. Ha, Mel. Ha.

"Think about what?" Zack asked.

"Not what," I clarified. "Who."

"Who?" echoed Rian.

"Yes, who."

"Well then, let's hear it." Mel averted her eyes as she spoke.

I hesitated for a few seconds, taking in the anxious faces of my friends. Even Zack seemed interested, and that was surprising. He usually didn't care about a fucking thing.

"Leigh."

"Leigh who?" wondered Rian.

"I don't know her last name," I admitted. "But she's a sophomore and just got bumped up to my German class."

"Leigh…" Mel muttered. She seemed to be thinking hard. "Isn't she that über religion freak? Leigh Fantazi?

"I don't know," I reminded her. "I just know that her name is Leigh, she's a year ahead in German, and she wore a crew-neck sweater today."

"Dude! You're going for a girl who wears _crew-neck sweaters_?!" Zack exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes. "And don't forget the floral skirts."

"Did you just say _floral_?"

"Ha, that's what I said to Jack," I laughed.

"Wait. _Jack_ said floral, too?" Zack seemed overwhelmed by our use of the word.

"Enough with the floral thing!" Mel imposed. She turned her focus back to me. "Yeah, I think you're talking about Leigh Fantazi."

"Leigh Fantazi…" I said to myself. I liked the name. It was different.

"Man, you won't be able to get her," Rian warned. "Mel says she's super religious. I doubt any Jesus-fan is gonna just hop into bed with you."

"Plus, she signed that abstinence pledge," Mel informed me. "Remember when that lady came in and talked to us at Assembly? Leigh was like, one of the twenty that signed it. And she's really conservative anyway, like with her clothes and speech and stuff. I heard that she's never said a swear word."

"I'll get her to sleep with me," I predicted with finality.

"How?" Zack asked skeptically.

"Please," I scoffed. "I'm Alex Gaskarth."

Rian and Mel took my statement without argument. Rian shrugged, Mel nodded, and then they both looked down at their menus. But Zack continued to glare at me with cynicism in his expression. I met his stare with confident eyes.

"You aren't gonna be able to do it," Zack told me.

"I disagree."

"It's not gonna happen."

"Yes it will," I contradicted.

"I'll tell you what," Zack drawled. "Let's make a bet."

"Okay, shoot."

"If you can get this Leigh Fantazi girl to have sex with you by May 19 – that's three months – I'll give you my '79 series Dean," he proposed. "And if you can't do it, you aren't allowed to sleep with anyone for the whole summer."

_Oh, fuck. _

How did Zack know how to cut such a hard deal? I'd wanted his '79 series Dean guitar since he bought it two years ago. It was a beautiful instrument with an amazing sound. And I was so confident in my ability to seduce Leigh. But, in the unlikely case that I didn't succeed, my favorite activity was banned for nine whole weeks. Could I live without sex for the entire summer?

_Fuck, shit, fuck._

I couldn't just flat-out refuse Zack's bet. I would look like a spineless wuss if I did that. And I couldn't debate it much longer, either. I'd look like an even bigger wuss then. I only had one choice, and I didn't like it. I was risking too much.

"Deal," I almost growled.

I shook Zack's hand. An evil smile crept across his face, and I knew that he thought he would win. I returned the grin.

_Well, that's just another person I'm gonna have to prove wrong, isn't it?_

Mel eyed me warily. I could tell that she didn't like this bet, either. No sex for me meant no sex for her. It seemed like she doubted my ability to get Leigh into bed. Hell, maybe she just didn't like that I was trying to get another girl in bed. That was probably it. I mean, I was fucking _Alex Gaskarth_ for Christ's sake! I could any girl I wanted. And that included Leigh Fantazi.

I just winked at Mel, trying to assure her that everything would be okay. I may have made the bet because I was masochistic and didn't want to look like a pussy, but I believed in myself. Confidence is key, right? And if it's not, I'm gonna fucking kill whoever uttered that lie. Because that was what my whole plan was based off of at this point.

_Swoop in, dazzle her with my confidence and charm, fuck her, get my prize._

That would be my new mantra. A little long, but what the hell. A whole summer without sex seemed a little long, too.

The waiter came back with our drinks, and Rian told him we wanted a large meat-lover's pizza. I absentmindedly ate four slices as my mind was flying a mile a minute. I was busy scheming for Operation: Turning Good Girl Bad.

**Leigh's POV**

"God, first I'd like to thank you for all the blessings you have given me. Thank you for my friends, my wonderful parents, and even my brother. Thanks for the house, the food, the water, and the clothes. Thanks for supplying me with intelligence and instilling a sense of right and wrong in me. But I have a few things to ask of you, God. Number one is to help me do well in my new German class. I'd really appreciate it. Second, please make sure my mom's big sales pitch goes well tomorrow. And last but definitely not least, please help me to avoid Alex Gaskarth. I know he is bad news, and I don't want to get caught up in his games. Please help me with this one especially, God, because I know my friends won't. Amen." I got up from my knees on the floor and climbed into bed.

The whole day had been confusing for me. First I had to adjust to an entirely new German class. Then in that entirely new German class, Alex Gaskarth, the king of all bad-boys, was staring at me. Then Rachel decided that Alex loved me, but Gwen was skeptical. Eve joined Rachel's side and gave a huge speech about how desirable I was, and Maria just sat there clueless, as always. Then some blue-haired girl randomly came up to me in the hallway and started talking to me. She seemed nice, but her blue hair threw me off. Her hair was _really_ blue. I mean like, _impossibly_ blue. And as abruptly as she began our conversation, she cut it off and walked away. How strange. I could hardly focus on my Pre-calculus test during last period. What was going on?

I lay down against my pillow and stared up at the ceiling. Why did everything have to be so perplexing? Really, it shouldn't be. I shouldn't be getting all worked up over Alex Gaskarth staring at me. At the end of the day, he was just a boy, right? And a very sinful boy, at that. I had no business devoting any of my time to talking or even thinking about him. So why was I?

But maybe it was good to think about him. I mean, in the way I was thinking about him. I was trying to come up with ways to stay away from Alex Gaskarth. It wasn't as if I was like Rachel and was swooning over him every second of every day. I knew that he was bad, and I didn't want any part of it. So maybe it was okay to think about him.

But I had to stop thinking about him! The more I thought about his perfect hair, the more I envisioned me clinging to those strands as he kissed me….

_Ugh! Stop it, Leigh! Good Christian girls don't think of things like that._

And I was a good Christian girl, right? Of course I was. So I needed to block Alex Gaskarth from my brain completely. But then how would I come up with ways to stay away from him?

_Arrgh! This is too hard._

My convictions from earlier were wavering. There seemed to be no way to make everything right. Maybe I should've just stayed in German II. That way I would've never met Alex Gaskarth, and I would've never spent hours thinking about him. I could have happily stayed focused on school. I would have not had to deal with any of this confusion. But wait…I technically didn't _meet_ Alex Gaskarth. We didn't talk or anything. I only acknowledged his presence, and he acknowledged mine. Heck, he might have not even been looking at me. He was probably just paying attention to the lesson. Herr Schmidt _was_ standing right in front of me. Yeah, that was it. Alex Gaskarth was staring at the teacher, not me.

This new revelation settled my mind. At least I didn't have to worry about getting sucked into the hotbeds of sin. I didn't want that. I wanted to stay pure and eventually find a guy that shared my values and respected me. Alex Gaskarth obviously wasn't that guy. So, with a lightened heart, I drifted off to sleep. And I didn't dream about Alex Gaskarth.

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**_So there you have it. I'll try to get Chapter 3 up sometime this week. Review review review!!!_**

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	3. No Love

**_Hello!_**

**_I was hoping to get this chapter out quicker, but it just did not want to be written. I worked really hard, and I'm pleased with the end result. This guy has about 900 more words than usual! So, yeah. Hope you like it._**

**_I'd like to give a shout out to teamjacob14. She was the first person to favorite my story. I'm more of a Team Edward person, but whatevs. You rock, dude!_**

**_Speaking of dudes, this chapter is entirely in Alex's POV. You guys better like it, because I've been writing in Alex's voice so much that I've begun to talk like him! I'm calling everybody (including my girl friends) dude or man, and I'm saying fuck in every other sentence. Coming from a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, straight-A student, it sounds a little strange. _**

**_So enjoy!_**

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**Alex's POV**

Zack's first mistake? Giving me three whole months to fuck Leigh Fantazi.

His second mistake? Making the stakes so high. He'd known me since I was eight. How could he not realize that other people's doubt encouraged me? That dude was fucked up in the head.

And believe it or not, Zack made a third mistake. He introduced and sealed the bet in front of our friends. Did he honestly think I would cave when my reputation was at stake? If he did, he had another thing coming.

The point is I was one hundred percent certain that I would win the bet. All indicators pointed in my direction. There was no way I was gonna lose this.

So I was biding my sweet time. I decided not to come on too strong the first week; I might scare her. See? I actually knew what the hell I was doing. I usually didn't need it because most girls practically threw their fucking selves at me, but I had did have knowledge of the female psyche. And I was putting it to good use this time around. Leigh was a different type of girl. She was sheltered, innocent. She had morals. She needed to be persuaded.

_How the tables have turned._

I usually was the one who had to be persuaded. I didn't just fuck every girl who wanted to get in bed with me. I did have standards (which I usually forgot about when drunk). I could see that Leigh was the same way. Of course, her standards were a lot different than mine. I could tell that just by the way she dressed and paid such close attention to Raymond's half-assed lessons. She was serious about life. She was the kind of person who always worked for the future, but never stopped to enjoy the present. I mean, anyone who was sixteen and so focused on school was obviously not enjoying what was going on around them. I bet she'd never even been to a fucking party before! Much less drink a beer or have sex or something. Yeah, Leigh had definitely not done those things yet.

But she would eventually. And by eventually, I mean before May 19. I needed the angel to get her wings a little dirty before she could meet the devil.

_Haha. That should totally be my new nickname. The Devil! Muahaha._

It was Friday, and I was doing all this scheming while staring at the back of Leigh's head. She'd taken up residence in the back of the room now. Maybe she didn't like the spit shower she got during Raymond's lecture on her first day. _Nobody_ sat in the front row in Raymond's class. His lisp apparently made his saliva have a fucking mind of its own.

I assumed that Leigh had moved seats because she learned her lesson with the whole spit-flying-from-Raymond's-mouth thing. There couldn't be any other reason, could there?

_Could she like me? That would make my job easier._

But, as I thought about this possibility more, it seemed less and less likely. Hell, she didn't even sit in front of me. _I _was the one who sat behind _her_. But it wasn't like I had a choice; I was late and it was the last seat open. At least Jack was sitting behind me, and I wasn't completely surrounded by preppy girls who only took German because I was in it. I didn't think I could stand one more of those butterfaces staring at me with that 'Fuck Me' look on her face. I was on a mission now, and I couldn't be bothered by any old shit that climbed out of the gutter. It would have to be young shit. Maybe blonde. And have _huge_ tits. Yeah, that's what a shit would have to look like to distract me from Leigh. But none of the shits in room 211 looked like the young, blonde, huge-titted shit that I conjured up in my head. So I put my focus back on Leigh's light brown hair. It was twisted up in a clip today, the tips jutting out in different directions.

_Oh. My. Fucking. God._

I felt my eyes widen as I took in the little piece of heaven before me. She had _another_ freckle. This one was on the back of her neck just below her hairline. It was small, perfectly round, and so inviting. I had to fucking restrain myself from going ahead and sucking on it right there in the classroom. Yeah, Raymond would _love_ that.

_I guess that's just a spot I'll have to investigate…later._

So I took my eyes away from that fucking freckle. I stared at the chalkboard past Leigh's head and tried to think of something to pass the time. I reached into my backpack and pulled out a notebook. Because I rarely even thought about taking notes, none of the pages were written on. I flipped to the first page.

**Operation: Turning Good Girl Bad**

That's what I wrote across the top of the sheet in big letters. I was making a list. I had nothing better to do, so why not try to stay organized? Maybe if I could get everything down on paper, a concrete plan would form. God, I was such a fucking girl. Writing down my thoughts? Hardly a manly trait.

_Ugh. Whatever. I'm making this damn list._

**Be friends with Leigh.**

I sat back and looked at my sentence. It was a little general. I scrubbed out the words with my eraser and thought for a bit, my pencil resting between by lips.

**Ask Leigh to tutor me in German.**

That's better. Actually, it was a pretty good way to get to know her. An hour with Leigh, alone in the library, twice a week? Sounds pretty fucking good.

Brrrrriiiiiinng.

The bell rang, and German was over.

_Dammit!_

I quickly stuffed my notebook in my backpack. No need for Leigh to see what I was writing. I slung my bag over my shoulder and walked out of the classroom. Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. I darted into the alcove right next to room 211 that used to be home to a water fountain, but was bare now. That was officially my new hiding place. I had a good view of the door from here.

Jack walked out of the room and past me. He stopped, then slowly swiveled his head to look at me. He looked confused and freaked out.

"Hey," I greeted him like there was nothing weird about hiding in an old water fountain alcove. Sure, that was totally normal. Not.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he hissed. Now he looked angry.

"Waiting for Leigh."

"Oh, Leigh," he sang, making wild gestures with his arms.

"Dude, stop being a dumbass."

"Ooh, I'm Alex and I'm in love with a girl who will never love me back," Jack said. He skipped in a circle and swung his arms.

"I don't love her!" I yelled. People looked up from their own business at my outburst and stared at me. Then I said in a whisper, "I don't love her. I'm just trying to get in her pants, remember?"

"Ah yes, the bet," Jack sighed. "Dude, you are way too competitive."

"I know. Now, you gotta get the hell out of here. Leigh's coming."

Jack rolled his eyes and gave me an amused look. "Fine." He disappeared down the hallway.

Just as I looked back to the door, Leigh walked over the threshold. She carried her books in front of her chest and held her head down. She whisked by me, and then I followed closely behind. Okay, it was a little stalkerish, but how else was I supposed to find her locker? Leigh made her way to the stairwell and started to climb. I did the same. She ended up leading me to a locker next to the music room on the third floor.

Leigh opened her locker and began depositing her books without noticing me. Once her arms were empty, she buried her face in her locker. Her shoulders were hunched, her body looking defeated.

_Huh. That's…different._

I silently stepped to her other side and hid behind the open locker door. I felt like an asshole for doing it, but I just _had_ to try this thing I saw on TV. My shoulder pushed into the wall of lockers beside me. My trademark smirk crept across my face.

Leigh kept her head in her locker for about thirty more seconds. She slowly stood up straight. With a sigh, she pushed the door shut.

"Oh!" she gasped when she caught sight of me in her peripheral vision. She whirled around to face me.

"Careful," I warned in a joking tone. "Don't have a heart attack."

She chuckled breathlessly. "Yeah, sorry. You scared me there."

"What, am I _that_ scary?"

Ooh, yes. I was in full-out flirt mode.

Leigh studied my face for a second. "No, not too scary." She hiked her purse strap higher up on her shoulder.

"Sorry, you probably don't know who I am. I'm Ale –"

"I know who you are," she interrupted.

"Oh, you do?"

Of course I knew that she would know who I was. I was just trying to charm her.

_Son of a bitch. You are a sneaky son of a bitch._

"Yeah. Um, I'm Leigh Fantazi." She held out her hand for me to shake.

Okay, that was new. A girl wanting to _shake hands_ with me? Alright then. I took her hand in mine and shook it. But I didn't let go of her hand. Oh yes, I was a cheesy bastard. And I was loving every minute of it.

She tried to pull her hand away, but I tightened my grasp. My cheesy bastard self wasn't gonna let her escape just yet. Leigh gazed down at our clasped hands, sighed, then looked up to my eyes. It was the first time she had made eye contact with me. It was the first time I could tell what her eye color was. And shit, it was fucking erotic.

Her irises were so blue that they almost looked clear. A tinge of green circled the rims. Damn, those were sexy eyes.

_Wait. Sexy __**eyes**__? How can eyes be sexy? And what was this girl doing being such a rule-follower? Fuck._

"Is there something you wanted to say to me?" she asked flatly.

I frowned for the smallest instant, but then let my smirk fall back into place. I was gonna crack this hard egg.

"Well, actually," I said, "I was wondering if you could tutor me."

Leigh's eyes bugged out. She tugged against my hand, and I let her go free this time. No need to be over zealous. Her forehead crumpled in confusion.

"You do know I'm only a sophomore, right?" she wondered skeptically. She placed her hands on her hips.

"Yes, I do. I _am_ in your German class. Raymond has mentioned it once or twice…or five thousand times. But who's keeping count?"

Leigh smiled.

"But you're really good at German," I explained. "And well, I'm not. So I thought you could help me?"

Leigh's wall didn't waver as I gave her puppy-dog eyes. She pursed her lips in thought for a moment, obviously unaffected by my charm.

_Dammit._

"Sure. I'll help you, Alex," she finally announced.

I put on my most elated expression. "Really? Great! Thanks. When and where should we meet?"

"Well, I have bible study on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. So how about we meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays?"

Mondays, Wednesdays, _and _Fridays? Fuck. That's a lot of church.

_Wait, is bible study the same as church? God help me. Haha. Pun._

"Sure, those days sound good. Meet in the library a half hour after school gets out? Then we can study for an hour," I suggested.

"That sounds good." She looked down and fiddled with the bottom of her sweater's sleeves. "Uh, well, I guess we'll start next week. But right now, I gotta go to class."

"Oh, right, class," I said.

Truthfully, I had English next, and I always skipped English. I don't think the teacher and I had even fucking met. And, besides, I was Alex Gaskarth. It didn't matter if I was late to class.

"Okay. See you later." She then stepped around me and glided into the music room.

"Bye, Leigh."

_Hello, '79 series Dean._

--

Friday night meant three things: drinks, drugs, and dames. The setting always varied, though. Some nights it was in my basement, others it was in Jack's garage. Nights when Phoebe's older brother worked as bouncer at the bar in town, we got a free ticket in there. So sometimes we hung out with other stoners and drinkers in a big, smoky room. Once, we even had our Friday night shenanigans in Mel's backyard. That was awkward. Her little brother was watching us from his bedroom window the whole time. I never went back there again.

This week, we were all meeting up at Jack's house to party in his garage. His parents were going to a wedding and spending the night away. Apparently they were going to be drinking and didn't want to drive drunk. I don't see the problem; I did it all the time. Anyway, we had the whole fucking place to ourselves. Jack and Phoebe had already called his parents' bedroom for later in the night. I just tried to block out the damn image that popped up in my head.

I was driving to Jack's house now. He lived only about ten minutes away from me, so I wasn't going to have to occupy myself for too long. I busied my mind with idle thoughts about tonight.

I probably wasn't gonna get too drunk tonight. I was still a little traumatized from last weekend's escapades. I still can't believe I slept with _her_! But the gossip had died down, and most of the student body concluded that it was impossible because I was so amazing and she…well…wasn't. Still, I had Jose Cuervo banned from all my friends' houses. I didn't want to be tempted or anything.

Mel was probably gonna get shit-faced drunk tonight, as always. Then she would beg for me to fuck her, as always. Then I would take her into the closet, and just make-out with her until she fell asleep or started throwing up. Whichever came first. As always. Both of those killed her mood pretty fast.

Not that getting freaky with Mel was not enjoyable. It's just that I always had to face her the day after and pretend like nothing happened. It was just a little awkward. I was fine with being fuck-buddies, but she apparently wasn't. _That's_ what made it awkward. She'd try to cuddle up to me and act like we were going out or something. No way, woman. Then I'd have to set her straight, then she'd get pissed off, then she'd start PMSing and get even more pissed off, then she'd forgive me and love me again. Damn, women were confusing. Especially Mel.

I followed this train of thought until I pulled into Jack's driveway. I didn't bother with the front door. I just entered the back way through the kitchen and meandered over to the garage. I wasn't in too much of a hurry to get drunk and high. I already had a headache for some reason, probably allergies, and I really didn't want a hangover in the morning. When I put off meeting my friends as long as I could, I made myself look lively and bounced over the threshold.

"Hey Alex!" Rian and Jack greeted simultaneously. The words were drawn out and slurred. I guessed some people had already hit the Jack Daniels.

"Hey guys," I said. I glanced around and saw Zack sitting on the futon rolling up some joints, but no Mel and Phoebe. "Where are the girls?"

"They're right over there!" Rian answered, throwing his arm to point to an empty corner.

"They haven't come yet," Zack clarified.

I studied Jack and Rian for a minute. "How are they already so fucking trashed?" I asked Zack. "I mean, Rian is hallucinating for God's sake."

Zack just shrugged his shoulders. "Rian came here like this. Jack, I don't know. He got this way after two shots."

I grunted in response. Jack had a hell of a weak head. Rolling my eyes at my friend, I went to grab some Grey Goose out of the kitchen.

When I came to the Barakats' liquor cabinet, I searched for the bottle of my favorite vodka. I didn't see it. I opened the cabinet doors and shoved bottles aside so I could see behind them. All that sat there was some dust and a dead spider.

_Dammit._

I closed the cabinet and snagged a Budweiser out of the fridge.

_Guess I'm going for the weak stuff tonight._

I wandered back to the garage. Zack, Jack and Rian were sitting in a circle on the floor now, smoking the joints that Zack had just rolled. I sat on the futon and cracked open my beer.

"You wanna smoke?" Jack slurred as he looked over his shoulder at me.

"Nah," I replied. I pointed to my throat. "Pot's bad for the vocals, remember?"

"So? You suck anyway," Rian argued.

I raised my eyebrows at him.

Zack rolled his eyes. "He's drunk, Alex, he doesn't mean it. Besides, we would tell you if you sucked. And pot _is_ bad for the vocal cords, and I'd like to get a record deal, so _please _don't smoke it."

"Don't have to tell me twice," I said. "I think any kind of smoking's nasty."

"It may be nasty, but it's so fucking fun!"

"Shut up, Rian! But yeah, he's right. Smoking's a shitload of fun," Zack expressed.

Just then, Phoebe and Mel pranced through the door.

"Hey people!" Phoebe said brightly. She took in the scene before her. "Oh, you guys started without us?"

"_They_ started without you," I corrected, pointing to the pot party on the floor. "_I've_ only had a beer." I held my Budweiser up in the air for evidence.

"Well, that's very sweet of you, Alex," Phoebe said sarcastically. "You're my new hero."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Phoebe. I know."

"You're my hero, too, Alex!" Mel cried, pushing in front of Phoebe.

_Way to kill it, Mel._

I just snorted and took a swig of beer. That was the best way to keep from answering Mel. Put something in your mouth. That way you had an excuse not to talk.

"Did you hear me, Alex?" Mel pressed. Then in a softer, more seductive tone, "You're my hero."

I slid my brown eyes to look at Mel's green ones. She had leaned down close to my face. Just looking at her eyes, Mel almost seemed…pretty. But then some of her fucking blue hair shifted, hiding her eyes. I turned away.

Mel huffed and sat down next to me on the futon. I could tell she was about to say something, so I put my Bud bottle to my lips. I heard her huff again, and I smirked while I sipped. Mel was so dramatic.

"Jackie-poo!" Phoebe exclaimed. She ran to Jack, got down on the floor, and threw her arms around his neck. Jack smiled and kissed her cheek.

"No objections to the nickname, Jackie-poo?" Zack wondered with an eyebrow raised.

He swung his head to look at Zack. Jack's eyes were swimming, and his jaw was slack. Damn, he was wasted already.

"Why wouldn't I like that nickname?" Jack retorted in a garble.

Both Phoebe and Zack glanced at me, Phoebe excitedly and Zack warily. That whole "Jackie-poo" shit was our way to tell how trashed Jack had gotten. He only tolerated the nickname when he was completely, desperately, pathetically, shit-faced wasted. Looked like he had gotten there, and it was only nine o'clock.

Personally, I didn't care how fucking drunk or high Jack got. He was still Jack. Zack detested drunk/high Jack with a burning passion. Phoebe liked him inebriated because apparently he went "longer, faster, and harder" in the bedroom. I shuddered at the thought.

_Do __**not**__ want to think about Jack and Phoebe's sexy time._

Zack turned back to the pot party, and Phoebe reached over Jack's shoulder for a joint. Rian pulled a lighter out of his pocket and tossed it at her. She lit up, inhaled, and smiled. A puff of smoke floated up to the ceiling when she blew out. Phoebe closed her eyes and cuddled up to Jack.

I watched my friends intently, trying to ignore the shit-filled blue-haired harlot sitting next to me. She was sighing every few seconds. I knew that Mel was just trying to get my attention, but it making her sound like she had fucking asthma.

"Having trouble breathing, Mel?" I asked.

She scooted closer to me. "Only because you're sitting right next to me."

I rolled my eyes. How cheesy can you get? This chick needed flirting lessons, and stat.

I stood up from the futon and strolled across the room. It was mostly to get the fuck away from Mel, but a new song had popped into my head, too. I grabbed Jack's guitar off the stand, plugged it into an amp, and played a few chords to make sure it was in tune.

_Perfect._

I strummed out the chords I had heard in my head: F, E minor, A minor, and C seven. Content with the order they went in, I started to pick out a melody.

It took me a while to find notes that I was happy with, but I did. The sound was soft and subtle, more like a ballad than a rock song. But that was fine; we needed more ballads anyway. I played the whole song out to hear how the verses, chorus, and bridge sounded together.

When I was done, Phoebe, who was pretty fucking attentive for a pothead, looked at me.

"That's pretty, A.G.," she said. "What's it called?"

"I don't know yet. I only have the music for right now," I answered.

"It should be a love song!" Rian blurted. His voice was high, just like his brain.

"Yeah!" shouted Mel, who had joined the pot party a while ago. "It should be about me! About how you love me so –"

"No," Jack interrupted. "It should be about Leigh Fan-what's-her-name."

Everyone except Rian (who was happily sucking away at a joint) turned their heads to look at me then. They all had different expressions on their faces: Phoebe seemed confused, Zack looked smug, Mel was definitely jealous, and Jack just stared at me expectantly. I took a swig from my fourth Bud of the night.

"What do you mean, Jackie-poo?" Phoebe asked, turning to her boyfriend. "I thought A.G. was just going after Leigh for a bet."

"Well, Bumble Bee," Jack began. Phoebe giggled at Jack's drunken nickname for her. "It may be all for a shitty bet, but let's just say that Alex would be going for her even if Zack hadn't offered up his Dean." He started nibbling her ear for effect.

"What?" Mel asked, her eyes widening.

"What's there not to get? Leigh's fucking hot, apparently," Zack said.

Mel's lip started to tremble. "But I thought you loved _me_!" she cried.

"Shit, guys! I _don't love anybody_! Leigh is hot, but the only reason I'm following through is because these two bastards don't think I can get her." I glared at Jack and Zack.

"It's 'cause you can't!" argued Jack. "She's a good girl. She won't go for you. Personally, I prefer the bad ones…."

Phoebe squeaked and jumped a little bit when Jack grabbed her ass. He gave a throaty laugh and leaned in to kiss her. Phoebe got really into it. Before I knew it, she was straddling Jack's lap and reaching to take her shirt off.

"Jesus, get a room!" I exclaimed.

Phoebe pulled away from her boyfriend. "Bedroom. Now," she told him.

They got themselves untangled and started running hand-in-hand toward the door.

"Hey, wait!" I called after them.

Phoebe pulled Jack to a stop. He kept whining and tugging on her wrist, trying to get her to leave already. She kicked his shin, and that shut him up pretty fucking quick.

"What, A.G.?" Phoebe replied.

"Did you get any more of that crank?"

She smiled. "Of course, dude. It's in my purse." She pointed to where her purse was on the futon.

With that, Phoebe dragged Jack out of the garage in a fit of giggles.

_Is there any other couple in the world that's as fucking horny as they are?_

I glanced at my watch. Wow. It was already 11 o'clock. My song must have taken longer to write than I thought. With two hours already wasted, I crossed the garage to the futon. I dug around in Phoebe's purse for the crank. Fuck, her bag was huge. There was a whole bunch of useless crap in there.

_Let's see…breath mints, pencil, cell phone, wallet, iPod, tampons (bleh)…here it is! Bag of crank!_

I pulled the zip-lock bag out of the small nation of Purse-land and set it on the futon. Now where was a mirror? I glanced around me and didn't see one.

"Any of you got a mirror?"

Zack muttered something from around his joint.

"Huh?"

"My backpack," he said as he exhaled. "Under the futon. Front pocket."

I reached under the piece of furniture and grabbed Zack's backpack. I quickly found the mirror. I set it next to the bag of crank and then dropped the backpack on the floor.

"Thanks, man."

"Mm," he hummed in response.

I stared at the pot party for a minute. "Don't you ever get tired of smoking that shit?"

"No," Mel coughed.

"I like weed," Rian stated.

_Okay, then._

I sat down on the futon again and took the bag of crank in my hands. Carefully, I laid lines of the fine, white powder on the mirror. I grabbed a straw out of the zip-lock and positioned it at the head of one of the lines. I brought the straw to my nostril. After a few heartbeats, I inhaled deeply through my nose.

_Hell. Stinging, burning, fire. Wanting to die. Bliss._

It was the kind of hurt that you lived for. I felt like a hole was seared through my nose and continued into my brain. There was a fucking inferno just under my skin, throbbing, blazing, and nipping at the same time. It made me feel alive. I snorted another line, and another, and another. I could hardly breathe, but I didn't care. It seemed so fucking right. I hadn't had any meth in so long.

When my nose started to feel like it was going to fall off, I remembered that I didn't want to get too trashed tonight. So I pushed the mirror away and stuffed the zip-lock back in Phoebe's purse. There wasn't much powder left, but whatever. Phoebe might want the rest in the morning or something.

My mind was buzzing. It was going a mile a minute, but I had no fucking idea what it was going on about. I blinked my eyes a few times to try and make sense of everything. That didn't help.

Suddenly, something dawned on me. I was extremely, extremely horny. I needed sex. And soon. I stared at my friends on the floor. Considering I wasn't gay, there was only one person I could fuck. I didn't want to do it, but I needed to. I needed sex.

"Mel," I croaked, my voice hoarse from snorting. "Closet."

She looked up at me in surprise. A big smile spread across her face. Even totally wasted, Mel knew what that meant. She scrambled up from her spot on the floor and dashed out of the garage, toward the infamous utility closet in the kitchen.

"Don't wait up, guys," I told Zack and Rian.

Zack rolled his eyes, and I don't think Rian even heard me.

I swiftly walked to the closet and threw the door open. Mel was there, leaning against shelves of cleaning supplies, her hooded eyes gazing at me. I stepped inside the small space and slammed the door. Mel reached for me.

"No," I said sternly as I stopped her hands.

"What? Why…why not?" Her voice wavered.

"Clothes off," I barked. "Now."

"No kissing?" Mel asked.

I was getting impatient. "No kissing. Now clothes off."

Mel eyed me warily for a second, but she complied. She flipped her shirt over her head and slipped out of her jeans. As soon as she unlatched her bra, I tore it off and snatched her tits.

"Ow! Alex, stop it!" she shrieked. "You're hurting me!"

"Stop lying," I hissed. I squeezed her flesh in a death grip. "I know you love it."

"I don't – ah, ah – I don't…it hurts…" she stammered. "Oh my God, Alex, it feels so good!"

I gave one hard laugh. Mel had no idea what she wanted.

--

When I was done, I dropped Mel on the floor and walked out. She stayed in the corner of the small closet, head in her hands, crying. I had used her, not caring about her in any way. I was a selfish bastard. And I loved it.

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**_There you have it. Review, review, review!!!! Pleeeeeeeeeeease review!!!! I will owe you forever. I hope to have Chapter 4 out by Wednesday or Thursday. I'm not promising anything, though. Thanks to everyone who has read my story and favorited it! I love y'all!_**

**_Much love, xeoa_**


	4. That Voice in My Head

**_Hey..._**

**_Okay, so first of all, I'm sooo sorry that it's taken so long for this chapter. I'll be surprised if you guys don't hate me by now. I know I get really frustrated when authors don't update their stories often. If you want to hear my pathetic excuse, read the A/N at the end of this chapter. Also, I pose a question that all of my readers should answer in the end A/N. PLEASE READ THE A/N AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER AND ANSWER THE QUESTION IN A REVIEW OR PM._**

**_This chapter is entirely in Leigh's POV. It's a little harder for me to write in her POV, so I think the rest of the story will mostly be in Alex's voice. Hope you enjoy!!_**

* * *

**Leigh's POV**

"_Mein Zimmer ist im zweiten Stock_," I droned.

Herr Schmidt had been making us listen and repeat for the whole period. I understood this stuff, but some of the people in German III apparently couldn't grasp the concept that in German, w's are pronounced like v's. Seriously, how could they not know that after three years of the language? It stunned me how many people paid no attention at all. Well, at least to the lesson. Everybody was paying attention to anything except Herr Schmidt.

I saw two girls concentrating very hard on passing notes without getting caught (which in Herr Schmidt's class didn't take much effort). I noticed the boy sitting next to me was doodling an elaborate war between space-chipmunks and marshmallow men in his notebook. But above all, I knew that Alex Gaskarth was paying _very_ close attention to the back of my head.

I had kept my distance throughout the week. I didn't want anything to do with him, and he probably didn't want anything to do with me. I had started sitting in the back of the classroom because Herr Schmidt could project his spittle over five feet. I wasn't too keen on the idea of being showered in smoker's spit. I didn't really have any friends in this class, so I just claimed a desk and let people sit around me.

Today, my seating plan didn't work too well. When class started, no one was sitting behind me. Alex Gaskarth waltzed through the door about ten minutes into the lesson, which made Herr Schmidt really mad. Alex looked around for an empty seat. He hesitated for a moment when he found that the only place he could sit was behind me. I leaned over my notes, trying to act nonchalant, and he plopped down in the desk.

"_Mein Zimmer ist im zweiten Stock_," Herr Schmidt spat. "Repeat, class."

I half-heartedly participated in the activity. Frankly, I was bored and these people were acting like idiots. We had been repeating the same sentence over and over again for the past hour! I came to German III to learn more, not less.

I was so thankful when the bell rang. As per usual, it took me a long time to get packed up. I was always one of the last people in a classroom. I shuffled out of room 211, clutching my books to my chest and looking at the floor. I guess you could say I was a little disappointed. Alex shot right out of his seat as soon as the bell rang. He was probably so disgusted by having to sit behind me.

_But that's good, Leigh! You don't want him to like you! He's a bad person!_

Right. No Alex Gaskarth. He was a bad influence. I didn't want to get caught up in his games. Alcohol, sex, and drugs were not things I wanted to get involved with.

_But couldn't you be his friend without getting involved in that bad stuff?_

Please, a girl couldn't just be Alex Gaskarth's _friend_.

_Maybe you could be the one to change him_, I thought as I mounted the stairs. I weaved through the sea of kids hurrying to get to their next class.

But if Alex didn't want to be changed, what was the point? You can lead the horse to water, but you can't make him drink. If Alex wasn't willing to become a better person, there was no use in trying.

_You don't know if he wants to change or not. Come to think of it, you don't know much about him at all! You're assuming things, and it's not good to assume. _

True. Assumptions were bad things. Maybe Alex wasn't really like that. Maybe he actually was a model citizen, and it was only gossip that gave him his reputation.

_Thank goodness! You're finally agreeing with me._

Wait…was I _talking_ with myself? Okay, that was just creepy. I decided that I couldn't trust my inner voice anymore, seeing how it was proof that I was going insane and all.

_What? No! I'm legitimate! Don't tune me out!_

Fine, I wouldn't completely ignore it. But it needed to help me in a way that was a lot less mental.

_Okay, give me a sec. Let me think._

Think? It was my _mind_. A mind shouldn't have to think.

_I don't care! Just give me a minute!_

Whatever. Sure.

I had finally snaked my way to my locker. It was on the third floor of the school, right next to the music room. Sounds of musicians warming up their instruments wafted into the hallway. I smiled as I shoved my book and binders into the locker. I had orchestra next, which took place in the music room. 'Orchestra' wasn't much of an orchestra; there were only about ten or so people in it. Nonetheless, I couldn't wait to go get my flute and warm up with the rest of my friends. Music always seemed to make things better.

Because the music room was so close to my locker, I always had a few extra minutes between German and orchestra. I used this as my designated 'emergency praying time.' If something had slipped my mind the night before or something new to pray for had come up this morning, this was when I talked to God about it. So, in my usual practice, I leaned into my open locker and closed my eyes. I let my body relax as I cleared my mind.

"Dear God," I mumbled, not quite loud enough for anyone else in the hallway to hear, "Rachel told me this morning that her dog is pretty sick. She loves her dog so, so much, and I don't know how she'd deal with it if she lost him. So please keep her in your mind today, God. I would really appreciate it if you'd let Rachel's dog live. And also, God, on a less important note, please give me strength for the whole Alex Gaskarth situation. I really need some help and guidance with that. Thank you and amen."

I stayed standing like that for a couple more seconds. My shoulders hunched over in exasperation. What was I going to do about this craziness?

_What are you going to do? You're going to stand up, close your locker, and look to your right._

I rolled my eyes. Great. The voice in my head was back.

_Yeah, so I thought about it for a little bit, and I know what you need to do. Just do what I tell you, okay?_

I figured that as long as I was going insane, I might as well follow my mind's instructions. With a slight sigh, I unearthed myself from my locker and closed the door. In my peripheral vision, I saw something. It wasn't the blue-gray color of the lockers that lined the hall. It almost looked like…a person. I made this evaluation in no more than a second. I anxiously slid my eyes to the right to get a better look at the person.

_Oh my gosh! You actually listened to me? This is a historic day, my friends._

"Oh!" I squeaked as I faced my visitor.

It was none other than Alex Gaskarth. _Alex Gaskarth!_

_Told you so._

"Careful. Don't have a heart attack," he said with a smirk.

_Oh. My. Goodness._

_It should be illegal to look that gorgeous._

"Yeah, sorry," I forced out. I brought my hand up to my throat. "You scared me there."

Alex shifted his weight from the locker he was leaning on to his left leg. Butterflies bounced around my stomach.

_Calm down there, missy._

"What, am I _that_ scary?"

I almost blurted out a quick "no," but for some reason, I hesitated. His face seemed _too_ suave, his voice _too _smooth. My previous assumptions swiftly flipped through my mind. All of the rumors. All of the talk. All of the…truth.

Most of the gossip was in fact…well…fact. Alex confirmed a lot of the buzz himself. Other theories that weren't confirmed still were plausible because they were never denied, either. I once heard that Alex was addicted to meth, and he punched out a drug dealer when he got in money trouble. Another story involved three senior girls, a hot tub, and a fast get-away car. The latest rumor (which hadn't been confirmed yet) said that Alex tricked a shy junior, Maggie Watson, into bed and left her to be humiliated as soon as she fell asleep. Maggie was proud of her adventure with _the_Alex Gaskarth, but mortified by being left like that. I would be, too, if I was ever weak enough to let a guy convince me to sleep with him. And this total disregard for everyone except himself seemed like a theme with Alex.

My two-second epiphany seemed to go unnoticed to him. I examined his expectant features briefly. Some quality exuded from him, and it spoke volumes to me. I knew my answer to Alex's question.

_Yes._

But I thought better than to admit my fear. Fear showed weakness, at least in the eyes of Alex Gaskarth and his womanizing ways. He would probably try to carry me away caveman-style or something. So I put on my brave face.

"No, not too scary," I replied.

I suddenly had the need to fidget, so I adjusted my purse's strap on my shoulder.

Alex cocked his head and leaned forward. "Sorry, you probably don't know who I am. I'm Ale –"

I held my hand up. "I know who you are."

I just wanted to get away from him. This was the last time I was ever going to listen to the voice inside my head for advice.

_Sorry about that._

I brought my attention back to the brown-haired beauty in front of me.

_He may be beautiful, but he's bad._

Alex's eyebrows were raised and his mouth was slightly open, making a surprised expression appear on his face. Psh, like I thought he didn't know how popular he was. He soaked up every minute of it.

"Oh, you do?" he asked with the distinct tone of astonishment in his voice.

_Huh. Good actor._

"Yeah," I mumbled awkwardly. "Um, I'm Leigh Fantazi."

_Wow. __**That's**__ sophisticated, Leigh. And why'd you give him your full name?!_

Not really knowing what else to do, I reached out to shake his hand.

_Shake his hand? __**Shake**__ his __**hand**__? Really?_

Alex looked down at my outstretched hand for a moment, and then took it in his firm grasp, pumping twice. The skin-to-skin contact sent shivers up my spine. Even his _flesh_ gave off that dangerous atmosphere.

All I wanted to do was high-tail it into the music room and get far, far away from Alex Gaskarth. So, after a stoic moment, I tried to reclaim my hand.

_He won't let go._

Alex kept his fingers firmly clasped around mine. My heart started racing, my brain rushing into panic-mode. He was so much stronger than me, that much was obvious, and I stood vulnerable and scared. He would have been able to do whatever he wanted in that moment, and I wouldn't have been able to stop him. I was helpless.

Averting my eyes to our joined hands, I took a few seconds to collect myself. It was imperative that I stay _seeming_ unafraid, at least. Once I felt the shield pop up over my features, I looked back up at Alex.

It seemed as if he was staring straight into my soul, and that scared me. I didn't want him poking around my soul. But, even as uneasy as I felt, I couldn't help but marvel at his gaze. His mocha-colored eyes comforted me and made me anxious at the same time. Even his _eyes_ were dangerous and confusing.

I knew I was the one who needed to break the silence. Alex's expectant expression told me he was waiting for me to say something. I checked my breath (to make sure my voice wouldn't sound shaky), squared my shoulders, and made my features look as indifferent as possible.

"Is there something you want to say to me?"

Yeah, that was a good strategy. Get him talking without divulging any information about myself. The sooner Alex started speaking, the sooner this conversation could be over with.

The sides of his mouth twitched downward slightly. But, this action was so quick that I can't absolutely confirm it as truth. I blinked, and his cocky grin had reappeared.

"Well, actually, I was wondering if you could tutor me."

That threw me for a loop. _Tutor_him? But Alex Gaskarth didn't do tutoring! He hardly even did school! And why would he be asking _me_ for help? I was just a lowly sophomore, after all. I knew everyone would give him a hard time if they found out he was being tutored by a sophomore.

I tore my hand out of his in surprise. He probably wasn't expecting it, so that might be why I was able to escape his hold. It took a few seconds to collect my thoughts.

"You do know I'm only a sophomore, right?" I said.

It was a stupid thing to say – Herr Schmidt had been all but pounding that fact into the heads of the German III students all week – but I couldn't think of anything better in my state of astonishment.

He snickered quietly. "Yes, I do. I _am_ in your German class. Raymond has mentioned it once or twice…or five thousand times. But who's keeping count?"

I smiled in spite of myself. The way that Alex called Herr Schmidt by his first name was so bizarre to me, and there might have been some truth to the whole five thousand times thing.

"But you're really good at German. And well, I'm not," he continued. "So I thought you could help me?"

My head was swimming in bewilderment. First of all, there was the whole thing about Alex Gaskarth actually carrying out a meaningful conversation with _me_, and then my revelation about being afraid of him added to the mix. And just when I thought I could finally peg him in a category, he starts being all worried about his academics. Tutoring? Really? It was _beyond_ confusing.

I worked hard to not let my face betray my thoughts. I think I succeeded because Alex seemed to grow a little worried while I was thinking it over.

_Would he be upset if I said no?_

One of my flaws: I hated conflict. I avoided it at all costs. So I really didn't want to make Alex Gaskarth upset, even if I was afraid of him. Especially if I was afraid of him. Only God knows what would've happened if I turned him down. Would he turn green and grow into a giant like the Hulk? I didn't want to find out.

Plus, it might be good to help him in German. He wouldn't hurt me if I was valuable to him, right? He might've gotten straight-D's, but he had common sense. And he seemed calm enough at the moment. But who knew when that could change? I didn't want to be a character in the latest rumor about Alex Gaskarth. I was better than that.

But, ultimately, my fear won out over my pride. I didn't want to see him transform into the Hulk right before my very eyes.

"Sure," I agreed reluctantly. "I'll help you, Alex."

"Really?" His voice sounded like pure, bottled glee. "Great! Thanks. When and where should we meet?"

I had to think for a second. "Well, I have bible study on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays," I reported. "So how about we meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays?"

"Sure, those days sound good," he said as he nodded. "Meet in the library half an hour after school gets out? Then we can study for an hour."

I almost cringed at that. Sure, he was popular and gorgeous…but, as previously stated, I was scared out of my wits. Two hours a week, alone in the library with him?

_God, I need you right now. Please help me through this. Give me strength and wisdom. Amen._

"That sounds good. Uh, well, I guess we'll start next week," I suggested. I caught sight of my watch and noticed the time. "But right now, I gotta go to class."

"Oh, right, class." Alex sounded distant.

Desperate to end our chat, I uttered an "Okay. See you later," and escaped to the music room.

"Bye, Leigh," Alex called after me.

I stumbled over the threshold and rushed to the instrument storage. I grabbed my flute hastily. I then headed to my chair, trying to put what just took place out of my mind.

_What the heck just happened?_

--

I paced along the carpeted floor in my bedroom. Rachel was sitting in front of my bed, painting her toenails with the precision that had come to be expected from her. My mind was busy, churning violently with the events of the day. Not only did I promise to tutor someone that I was afraid of, but that unusual blue-haired girl talked to me in the hallway again. I didn't even know her name! My life just kept getting weirder.

Rachel was so absorbed in her task that she jumped when I spoke.

"So, I'm pretty much a total idiot now," I told her.

She looked up at me, nail-polish brush frozen in mid-air. My features no doubt conveyed my sentiments of worry and chagrin.

"Hmm, that's new," Rachel murmured. "Why?" she asked in a curious tone.

I flopped down on the floor. "Because I'm tutoring Alex!" I wailed.

Rachel's chin jutted out in confusion. Slowly, she screwed the cap back on her polish and set it next to her on the carpet.

"Alex who?" she asked. From the sound of her voice, Rachel already knew who I was talking about.

"Who do you think?" I asked sarcastically. I buried my face in my hands.

My best friend squealed at a pitch that I was fairly sure only dogs could hear.

"Shut up! Do you want to wake up my parents?" I whispered harshly. "It's one A.M.!"

Rachel abruptly calmed down. "Sorry, sorry," she mumbled. Then her face lit up again. "But oh my God! Alex _Gaskarth_! You get to spend a couple hours per week, alone with _him_?"

I nodded in confirmation.

She squealed again. "Oh my fucking God! I'm so jealous!"

"Could you _please_ not swear? And this is nothing to be jealous about."

"I don't think you understand the amazing-ness of this situation," she scoffed.

"I don't think you understand the scariness of this situation," I retorted. "There is nothing amazing about this. Please, Rachel. I really need some advice."

She studied my face for a minute, trying to determine whether I was serious or not. Her choice was set in stone when I saw her features transition into 'mom-mode.' Her blue-green eyes were full of questions.

"Okay, Leigh. I'm sorry," she apologized. "What's bothering you?"

"What's bothering me?! I just told you! I'm tutoring Alex!" I replied a little angrier than necessary.

"Whoa, easy there." Rachel shrunk back from my words.

"Sorry."

"S'okay." She smiled at me. "So, I don't understand why you're freaking out over tutoring him. I mean, I would kill to be able to spend time alone with him."

"That's the whole problem. I'll be _alone_ with him."

Her expression, which already showed her confusion, twisted up to even further exhibit her perplexity. So, I continued.

"He caught me by my locker right before second period started today. That's when he asked me about the tutoring thing," I explained.

Rachel nodded, indicating that I should go on.

"I felt, like, mental or something. There was this voice inside my head that I'd never had before, and I was arguing with myself. It convinced me that I should give Alex a chance."

"'It' being the voice in your head?"

"Yes. So then for some reason we shook hands, and he wouldn't let go on my hand even though I tried to pull away, and he was smirking at me, and – oh, Rachel, I don't know what to do!"

I was pretty much bawling from anxiety at this point. Rachel crawled over to me and wrapped me in a hug. She murmured soothing sounds in my ear, like you would do for a crying baby. Yeah, she was a total mom.

"Shh, Leigh. Calm down."

I sniffled and rubbed the bizarre tears out of my eyes. Why was this so overwhelming?

"Please," Rachel said, "finish what you were saying."

"Well, I realized I was afraid of him," I admitted. "I mean, just think of all the girls he has…well…you know."

Rachel chuckled at my innocence.

"And I don't want to be another one of those girls. He's physically strong enough to make me do anything he would ever want me to do," I continued. "And I'm gonna be alone with him! Twice a week!" I took an unsteady breath. "Rachel, he could _rape_ me."

"He would never do that," she assured as she gave me a little squeeze. "Guys like him don't just go around raping random girls. First of all, do you know how bad that would be for his image? And even then I don't think he's messed up like that."

I groaned, pulling away from her. "Rachel! I'm freaking out!" I cried.

"No duh," she muttered.

I elbowed her in the stomach.

"Ow! Hey!" Rachel complained. "I'm just trying to help you here."

"Well then get to it!"

I heard her sigh. Knowing my best friend, she was probably rolling her eyes, too.

"Fine, fine. But I want to make sure I have my facts straight. Alex Gaskarth cornered you after first period. There was a freaky voice in your head that was telling you to trust him. But then you realized you were deathly afraid of him, and he asked you to tutor him. Am I right?"

"Yes, yes, yes, and yes."

"And then you agreed to tutor him? See, I don't understand that part. If you're so scared of him, why'd you agree to do that?"

"I don't know!" I whined. "At the time, it seemed like a good idea. Like, if he needed me, then he wouldn't harm me."

"Are you serious?!" she laughed.

"Stop it!" I demanded. "I really need help with this!"

"I know, I know, this is just really funny!"

"Well, I'm glad I amuse you," I huffed.

Rachel's brow furrowed, and the corners of her mouth turned down. I didn't like this expression on her; it was her 'sad face.'

"C'mon, Leigh. Don't be like that," she pleaded.

I knew I was being irrationally upset. My friend was just trying to help me, after all. Why on earth would I want to lash out at the one person I could trust with my fears? I was a complete, emotion-driven, stupid wreck. I usually didn't unravel this much or this quickly. What was happening? Maybe I was PMSing or something.

"Sorry," I whispered.

She gave me a sad smile. "It's alright. I know this must be confusing for you."

I nodded in agreement.

"Here, why don't you go ahead and try to sleep," she suggested. She popped up off the ground and held her hand out to me. "We danced really hard tonight, and I'm sure you're tired. Things like this always seem worse when you're sleepy."

I took Rachel's outstretched hand and let her pull me to my feet. I did feel exhausted. Cheerleading tryouts were next week, so we practiced twice as hard tonight. And she was right; predicaments really did seem worse when you were tired.

_Just sleep on it, and you can think about this mess in the morning._

Oh, great. The voice in my head was back. Well, at least it was giving good advice this time.

I stumbled over to my fluffy queen-sized bed and collapsed onto it. A duvet had never felt so heavenly. I felt Rachel's weight shift the mattress as she climbed in next to me. She had already killed the over-head light, so I turned off the lamp on my bedside table. With the room totally dark, I could sense unconsciousness tugging at the edges of my mind.

"'Night, Leigh," Rachel sighed sleepily.

"'Night," I returned, barely stifling a yawn.

_Good night._

Hmm. This might be a long night.

* * *

**_There you go. Hope you liked it. Now, on to my excuse..._**

**_My friend who asked me to write this story suddenly decided that I was a bitch and didn't deserve to be friends with her. So she went on to totally abandoning me in my time of need, etc etc. And with this chapter being in Leigh's POV (with Leigh being very closely based off of my ex-BFF), it was very hard for me to write. Trying to get in the head of someone who just betrayed you? If you've never tried that, it's quite difficult. And she was being very immature about it too. Look at the reviews for "Horns and a Halo." The ones under the penname of wastetimelookin4love are written by none other than the person that washed her hands of me. Those reviews were very nasty for the sole purpose of irritating me, so please disregard them._**

**_Now for my important question. Should I continue with HAAH? Part of me wants to give up on it because it was for my ex-friend, but I don't want to disappoint my readers. If I get enough support for continuing with this fanfic, I won't quit. So please make your opinion known through a review or a PM._**

**_As always, reviews are greatly appreciated. They make my heart a little happier with each email I receive. And please, if you have a criticism, make it constructive. I don't think I can look at another review that says this is the worst story ever written. _**

**_I'm a little stuck on what I should write next chapter...any suggestions??_**

**_Much love, Xeoa_**


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